The Characters of Encrypted
Thomas Miner--a professional data miner, amateur woodworker and avid sportsman with proficiency in archery. Courage and bold action come naturally to Thomas, but Thomas is not disposed to believe in those things that he has not seen and cannot clutch with his hands. Lucy speaks truth when she says to Thomas that it is his nature to be a doubter, not a believer. Thomas' given name is no accident--can you guess its genesis?
Nana--a sen-canid of the Weimaraner species and Thomas' life partner. Nana is disposed to faith which comes by hearing--hence the large, floppy ears! She loves the stories of the Good Shepherd, a tender of animals who was born in a stable with ox and ass. The Father/Creator fills the role of the Father that Nana has never known.
The White Stag--a symbol in Christian religious tradition for the Christ. Stags were believed in nature to root out snakes from their holes and kill them. This associated the stag in the popular mind with a vanquisher of the devil. The encounter with the White Stag immediately precedes the contact from Mr. Lamb. Later the Stag enables Thomas to escape from the fight in the wood.
Mr. Lamb--the sen-lamb who hires Thomas and Nana to find and de-crypt the Book. In Latin, "Agnus", as in "Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi." Mr. Lamb and the White Stag are different manifestations of the Good Shepherd.
Peter Stone--his name says it twice. "Petrus" in Latin or "Cephas" in Aramaic--in English "rock" or "stone". The man who holds the keys to every door--including the gateway to Heaven. Given his name by Jesus when he correctly identified who Jesus was--to which Jesus replied :
"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whosoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Isolde--a non-sentient Alsatian, Peter's companion. She is named after an Irish princess who was immortalized by Richard Wagner in his opera, "Tristan und Isolde". The theme of that opera, in particular the "Liebestod", resonates with one of the themes of "Encrypted"--that love attains its ultimate realization by death.
Citizen Lucy--Thomas and Nana's antagonist, the Prince(ss) of this world who sits enthroned on the dais at the entrance to the Mine. She boasts a formidable pair of horns and her eyes glow with hell-fire; her scent, covered with perfumes, but "vaguely sulfurous." She runs the Collective and is Thomas' inquisitor. She offers sen-kind the subtle chains of ease and entitlement and has blocked the route to heaven. Lucy's examination of Thomas was loosely based on Gletkin's examination of Rubashov in Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon."